Today, the computer gaming industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. Such popularity may be due in part to faster computing devices, higher quality graphics, and better quality games. Many of today's video games provide a variety of different input/output devices useable by a game player to interact with the game. For example, many video games allow a player to interact using a keyboard and/or mouse. While such input/output controllers allow the game player to interact with the game, the game player might not ‘feel’ that they are immersed into the game. Therefore, many video games have been redesigned to allow use of gamepads, joysticks, trackballs, game paddles, and the like to provide ways of immersing the video game player. Some joysticks and/or paddles are configured to resemble a type of device consistent with the video game being played. For example, for some flight simulation games, a joystick might be designed to provide throttle quadrants, levels, wheels, and handheld sticks that appear to the game player as though they are flying within a cockpit of an aircraft.
By modifying the input devices, video game players are more likely to become involved with and therefore, enjoy the video game more so. As such, the video game player is more likely to continue to play the game, share the game with others, and perhaps to purchase similar games in the future. This trend of modifying the input devices to have more game player involvement is even more apparent with the advent of wireless controllers. For example, in one popular video game, the game input controller is a wireless handheld controller that may include built-in accelerometers, infrared detectors, or similar components. Such components are used to sense a position of the controller in three-dimensional space when pointed at a light emitting diode (LED) within a remote sensor bar. The game player then controls the game using physical gestures as well as traditional buttons, to play games such as bowling, imaginary musical instruments, boxing games, or the like.
However, while many game players may feel this provides an increased level of involvement in the video game, other game players may still feel that the involvement in the video game is incomplete. Thus, it is with respect to these considerations, and others, that the present invention has been made.